Arena Digest: Immigration reform

As one of many pro-immigration conservatives who support comprehensive immigration reform, I agree with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) that Democrats’ aggressive and highly partisan use of reconciliation to push health care reform could scuttle immigration reform. The president should shelve health care reform for now, cool the partisan tensions and reach out to Republican senators like Graham, John McCain, Dick Lugar, Susan Collins, Scott Brown and George Voinovich to craft sensible immigration reforms that secure the border, enforce the law in the workplace and create legal channels for workers to enter the country.

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Ross Baker, professor, Rutgers University

For congressional Republicans, the use of budget reconciliation seems to be the universal deal breaker. Sen. Bob Corker backed off on financial services reform and Sen. Lindsey Graham retreats from immigration reform if it is used for health insurance reform. They seem to think that reconciliation is some kind of toxic substance, rather than a part of a budget act that is now more than three decades old and was designed to be a normal (even annual) component of fiscal policy.

Edward Alden, senior fellow, Council on Foreign Relations

Sen. Lindsey Graham should be commended for his willingness to work across the aisle on big issues like energy and climate change, treatment of detainees and immigration reform. But what exactly should the administration do with a threat of this sort? It could give up on health care, I suppose, and leave 30 million people without insurance and everyone else crossing their fingers that they don’t develop a “pre-existing condition” at the wrong time. Or it could abandon immigration reform, keep jailing and deporting 400,000 people a year and keep sending back home the bright foreign students who want to build companies and employ Americans but can’t face a 10- or 15-year wait for a green card. The problem with these political parlor games is that they hurt real people in the real world.

Dean Baker, co-director, Center for Economic and Policy Research

This is school kids’ stuff. The Republicans are obviously scared that the Democrats will actually pass health care insurance and have something to show in November. This one about immigration reform is really good. Yeah, all the Republicans were planning to rush over to the White House for a big bipartisan agreement on immigration reform, but now health care is going to stand in the way.

If there is anyone who believes this story, may I have that person’s phone number? I have some collateralized debt obligations I want to sell.